1. Field of the Invention
Our invention relates to roof maintenance, specifically to an improved self-adjusting roof rake and an improved method of removing pine straw and leaf debris from roofs of houses.
2. State of the Prior Art
As can be seen by reference to known raking implements covered by U.S. patents, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse rake constructions. While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their ability to efficiently and safely remove pine straw and leaf debris from pitched roof surfaces, particularly from recessed V-shaped roof areas where two piched roof planes meet.
Most of the known raking implements covered by U.S. patents are designed for ground use by a person standing at ground level. Such lawn and leaf rakes are described as having a plurality of tines or teeth. Some of these rakes are fan-shaped, others have a horizontal crosshead or bar from which tines or teeth extend in a straight line. A few examples of fan-shaped rakes are; E. A. Canalizo, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,802, J. Horstman, U.S. Pat. No. 1,887,480 and Rugg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,953. The design and structure of such fan-shaped rakes usually include a restricting bar across the body of the tines which maintain spacing of the tines but limit their flexibility. Such limited flexibility makes such rakes unsuitable for removal of pine straw and leaf debris from roof surfaces, particularly from recessed V-shaped roof areas where two pitched roof planes meet. And it is in such V-shaped angled roof areas where pine straw and leaf debris tend to gather and remain.
A few examples of crosshead rakes, which feature a plurality of tines or teeth of uniform length and extend from a rigid horizontal bar or cross-piece are; Riley II et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,531 B1, Milbury, U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,381 and Kaufman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,226. Such rakes, because of their complete lack of flexibility and rigid construction are unsuitable for the purpose of removing pine straw and leaf debris safely and efficiently from roofs. The pointed and often sharp teeth of such rakes have the added disadvantage of being able to cause damage to roof surfaces.
There are three known patents covering rakes designed for use on roofs of houses. One is Phillips, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,780, specifically designed to remove scraps and pieces of construction materials such as wood, metal and shingle debris. This raking device has two sets of rigid tines facing in opposite directions from each other. This raking implement requires an operator, while standing on a roof, to move the tines in one direction or an opposite direction by turning a control mechanism in the rake handle. The design and structure of this device make it completely unsuitable to remove pine straw and leaf debris efficiently, particularly from recessed V-shaped roof areas where two pitched roof planes meet.
The other two known roof-rake patents are L. A. Schroeder, U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,790 and Whitehead et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,894 both of which cover raking devices designed to remove snow and ice from roofs of houses. The rigid construction and horizontal blade design of these devices, which more closely resemble a shovel than a rake, are intended, to scrape and slide snow and ice down and off a roof. Such design renders such devices impractical and unusable for the purpose of removing pine straw and leaf debris from roofs of houses.
None of the raking devices described or referenced herein, or any others we are aware of, were either designed or intended to remove pine straw and leaf debris from roofs of houses. Nor, based on their own detailed descriptions, could they reasonably be expected to perform such a function safely and efficiently.
Yet many homeowners, for want of something better, continue to use some of these rakes to try to clear their roofs of pine straw and leaf debris. The failure of such rakes to perform safely and efficiently is especially obvious when trying to clear such debris from V-shaped roof areas where two pitched roof planes meet.